Chapter 19: Secret Passage

  The mountain is ready, just waiting for the attack from below. But as they waited, there was no movement at all, and the brothers on the mountain were naturally delighted. However, Long Fei felt that something wasn't quite right. According to the scouts' reports, Yang Feng and his men had been stationed at the foot of the mountain for over a dozen days, but their food and grass supplies were limited. It was unlikely that they would really retreat without making a move after such a long time. Long Fei shook his head, immediately dismissing this idea.

  "Big Brother Zhou, is there any secret passage on this mountain?" Long Fei asked suddenly.

  Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao exchanged a glance. "Uh..." Pei Yuanshao hesitated for half a day. Long Fei immediately understood that a good stronghold must have an escape route, which is used to save lives in critical moments, just like the saying "a cunning rabbit has three burrows", let alone humans. Isn't there a secret passage under the throne of the mountain eagle on Mount Wei Hu?

  "What's the big deal, tell me!" Zhou Cang shouted loudly: "You won't say it, I will! Yes, there are secret tunnels one by one, in a cave on the back mountain, from where you can go straight to Taihang Mountain. It was even dug by me myself last year with my brothers!"

  "Who else knows about this secret passage?"

  "Besides our brothers, there are just a few leaders, what's up? What's wrong?"

  Long Fei did not respond, lowering his head to ponder. The tactical instructor had said that as a commander, one must consider all possibilities, for things often occur in the most unexpected places and are fatal. The pass at Woyao Mountain was originally meant to be a lifesaver; if someone had informed Yang Feng of these matters, this place would become their death trap.

  "Where's Zhou Lun? Where did he go?" Long Fei asked suddenly.

  It wasn't until now that Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao remembered that Zhou Lun had not been seen for over a dozen days. Since being defeated by Ling Yi at the assembly hall that day, Zhou Lun had never appeared again. Zhou Cang had also sent people to look for him, but he was nowhere to be found. With the army stationed at the foot of the mountain, this matter was overlooked, so no one noticed Zhou Lun's movements.

  "Grandma's, hurry up and send someone to find!" Long Fei was anxious, what he feared most was internal problems, fearing that something would happen. He grabbed Pei Yuanshao: "Also, send someone to the secret passage in the back mountain, if there's any unusual movement, report immediately!"

  The Wocun Mountain was suddenly in an uproar, and the overall plan made by Long Fei was disrupted by this incident. Almost all the people who could be mobilized were dispatched to search for Zhou Lun, but none of them found him. The people sent to the back mountain also returned, and the secret passage was normal without any abnormalities. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, thinking it was just a false alarm. Long Fei also let out a sigh: "From now on, we must pay attention to those unlikely places, not only deploying troops but also sending people to monitor them. There are too few people on the mountain, and we can't afford to be even slightly negligent!"

  At this time, Zhou Lun, who was being searched for by everyone, was in the Black Mountain Army's large tent at the foot of the mountain. He had been humiliated by Long Fei, losing all his face, and his elder brother not only didn't help him save face but instead helped an outsider, making Zhou Lun extremely uncomfortable. After finding a quiet place to think for ten whole days, he finally made up his mind that this grudge must be avenged.

  "Haha... " Tao Sheng laughed and said: "Prefect Zhou, rest assured, as long as you take down Woyao Mountain, the commander will definitely let you sit in the first chair of Woyao Mountain. As for Long Fei's gang, it's naturally up to Prefect Zhou to deal with them. Now, can Prefect Zhou tell us how to attack Woyao Mountain?"

  "I don't care about being the first, as long as I can personally kill Long Fei, I'll be satisfied!" Zhou Lun looked at Yang Feng and Tao Sheng: "You guys promise not to kill my big brother and Pei San?"

  "In that case, you can rest assured!" Tao Sheng immediately said: "We came this time under the orders of General Dai, hoping that Zhou Cang would surrender to the Black Mountain Army and did not want to kill anyone. Who would have thought that Long Fei would jump out and cause trouble, resulting in the current situation? As long as they can put down their weapons and surrender to us, General Dai will be overjoyed and won't harm them."

  "Come on! What's your plan to get us up Sleeping Cow Mountain?" Yang Feng asked impatiently.

  Zhou Lun hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said: "Since that's the case, I know of a secret passage that leads directly to the back of Woxiu Mountain. Tomorrow, you can bring people with you and follow me, and we can bypass the three dangerous places and the traps on both sides."

  "Oh? Really?" Tao Sheng immediately became spirited.

  Zhou Lun nodded: "This secret passage is only known to a few people, Long Fei is not one of our mountain stronghold's people, he doesn't know at all, so when setting up the defense, he neglected this place, the two generals can take advantage of it."

  The next morning, news came from the back mountain. There was a situation in the secret passage. Long Fei's eyes widened and he hastily led Zhou Cang, Pei Yuanshao, Zhao Yun and others to rush to the back mountain. With their ears pressed against the entrance of the cave, they could vaguely hear the movements inside, the voices were not loud, it seemed like someone was talking. The three looked at Long Fei waiting for his orders.

  Long Fei thought for a moment, an evil expression appeared on his face, and he immediately ordered: "Go get some firewood, and bring some water too!"

  Time was not long, things were prepared, and the sound in the cave could be heard clearly. Long Fei ordered to ignite the firewood, and some water was poured on top. This time it was good, these firewoods only smoked without seeing fire, and the more they smoked, the thicker they became. The surrounding several henchmen were choked and coughed continuously, and hurriedly hid away. Long Fei picked up a wooden stick and threw these firewoods into the cave, ordering the henchmen to fan the wind inside.

  Rolling thick smoke poured into the tunnel. At first, Yang Feng and others did not notice anything unusual, only smelling a faint smell of smoke, Tao Sheng said it might be the smoke from cooking on the mountain. But as they continued to move forward, the thick smoke grew larger, the soldiers in front were already choking and unable to move, many people even fainted.

  Yang Feng realized something was off: "Halt!" He covered his mouth and nose with his hand and walked forward, the smoke growing thicker as he went. In some places where the path curved, it was even hard to see the road ahead. The cave was filled with violent coughing, and the soldiers retreated in disorder.

  The water for putting out the fire had run out, so the rascals undid their trousers and urinated on the fire. The smoke mixed with the smell of urine could be smelled even by Long Fei who was standing upwind, let alone Yang Feng and others in the mountain cave. Yang Feng had already guessed that this time his sneak attack had been discovered, and immediately ordered his soldiers to retreat.

  Rolling thick smoke emerged from the distant Taihang Mountains, and the people of Wocun Mountain shouted in unison, admiring the smoke they had created that pierced through the entire passage. On the other side, Yang Feng sat on the ground with a nose full of snot and tears, panting heavily. His eyes were red from the smoke, and his tears flowed uncontrollably as he coughed violently, almost coughing up his lungs.

  "These bastards actually used such a ruthless move! They're treating us like wild boars!" Tao Sheng coughed and complained at the same time: "It's all because of your great idea, almost suffocating us to death in there!"

  Zhou Lun was the guide, walking at the very front of the team and also the last one to retreat. He coughed so much that he couldn't even speak. Yang Feng waved his hand: "It seems that Zhou Cang has told Long Fei everything, we can't go any further here, we need to think of another way, let's go back and let our brothers rest for a while!"

  As night fell, the clouds and fog pressed down on the top of Woxu Mountain, shrouding it in darkness. The cold wind carried a faint murderous aura, and over a dozen dark shadows darted through the pitch-black forest, occasionally revealing their figures for just an instant before vanishing. Birds that had been sleeping soundly were startled awake by these movements and immediately took to the skies. Nocturnal animals that had come out to hunt for food also hastily retreated from their tracks.

  Long Fei wore a black outfit, with cloth strips wrapped around his sleeves and pant legs. A piece of black cloth covered his face, revealing only his eyes, which sparkled in the sunlight. The clothes were very uncomfortable, especially the shoes, which had holes that let in cold air. Sometimes when he stepped on thorny plants, he would be pierced by the spines, and from time to time, he had to stop to pull out the thorns stuck in his body.

  In front of us is the Wocao River, a small river at the foot of Mount Wocao. Long Fei raised his hand and the people behind him hastily stopped. He made several professional gestures with ease, but the people behind him were all staring blankly at him, no one moved. Long Fei cursed silently: "How could they have forgotten this!" He beckoned to them from behind, and the crowd immediately gathered around.

  "Keep your voices down: 'You guys stay here, I'll go scout ahead. If there's no movement, you can follow me over. Remember, not a sound!'"

  Perhaps due to excitement, or perhaps due to fear, everyone stared at Long Fei with wide eyes and nodded solemnly. Long Fei smiled: "Don't be nervous, we're going to launch a surprise attack, originally I didn't want so many people!" After finishing speaking, he crouched down and headed towards the riverbank.

  He emerged from the woods, immediately prostrating himself on the ground, staring ahead with wide eyes to make sure there was no movement, before slowly crawling towards the riverbank. Sharp rocks slid beneath him, and Long Fei endured the pain, trying his best not to make a sound. Having done this for many years, it seemed like an everyday action, but don't underestimate this act of crawling forward - it's the best posture for stealthily approaching the enemy.

  The river water was cool, but not too wide. First, he tested the water temperature, and Long Fei slowly crawled into the river, the biting cold making his whole body tense, involuntarily wanting to grit his teeth. Armed fording was child's play, let alone this narrow little river. In just a few strokes, he reached the opposite bank. Long Fei didn't stop for a moment, slowly approaching the Heishan Army's camp.

  After observing for a while, there were only a few sparse sentries. There was no camp, and the sleeping tents were set up in an open area. Because of the cold weather, most of the guards gathered around the bonfire to warm themselves. Long Fei smiled slightly and slowly retreated, beckoning everyone to come over. The group also followed Long Fei's example, crawling bit by bit, but they couldn't withstand the friction of the stones, and many people had already started grinding their teeth. With great difficulty, they reached the riverbank and stretched out a hand to test it, but the icy coldness made them all retreat in defeat.

  Zhou Cang took the lead, and the others had to follow. After crossing the river, they were all frozen stiff, their teeth chattering and bodies trembling. Long Feng hastily pressed them down to the ground, telling them not to make a sound: "I've taken a look, there are twenty-eight tents in total, arranged in a circular shape. The largest one in the middle must be where Yang Feng and the others are staying. There are thirteen guards, we have twelve people, each of us will take care of one guard. Remember not to make any noise at all, do you all understand?" Everyone nodded repeatedly.

  "Alright! Everyone disperse and find your own targets!" Long Fei waved his hand and everyone immediately dispersed.